alleryStart learning →What happens to a cell's surface area to volume ratio as the cell increases in size?
AIt increases steadily with size
BIt decreases steadily with size
CIt stays fixed at every size
DIt rises and then levels off
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. It decreases steadily with size
1. Surface area grows as the square of the radius while volume grows as the cube.
2. Volume therefore grows much more rapidly than surface area.
3. The ratio of surface area to volume must fall as the cell enlarges.
4. A fixed ratio would require area and volume to scale by the same power, which they do not.
5. The ratio decreases steadily with size.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 4 "Cell Structure", section 4.2 Prokaryotic Cells_
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